Conventionally, an analysis method using a substrate such as a DNA chip, on which biological materials having a known chemical structure are arranged and immobilized in a plurality of positions, has been used extensively. In this analysis method, a solution in which a target biological material having an unknown chemical structure and labeled by a fluorescent material or the like is suspended, is brought into contact with the substrate such as the DNA chip, so that the target biological material and the known biological material are coupled and reacted with each other, thereby analyzing the chemical structure of the target biological material from a detected position of the labeling material. In order to perform the analysis, it has been necessary to reliably capture faint luminescence from the labeling material such as the fluorescent material of the molecular level, coupled with the biological materials immobilized on the substrate such as the DNA chip.
For this purpose, it is necessary to multiply the received faint light by using a photomultiplier (PMT), to convert the light to an electric signal that can be subjected to information processing (Foreign Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,994
Patent Document 2: U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,305